


every story is a love story

by CoraClavia



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: And has Feelings, Chakotay tells stories, F/M, just fluff, probably, season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26432263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoraClavia/pseuds/CoraClavia
Summary: In which Kathryn knows the storyteller.
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 18
Kudos: 131





	every story is a love story

**Author's Note:**

> I envision this at some point in season 7. Maybe season 6. But definitely later.
> 
> As always, thanks to mylittleredgirl for indulging me as I return to this glorious show.

Calvani is a peaceful world, rich in resources, with a friendly population, something Kathryn has learned not to take lightly in the Delta Quadrant.

The crew are invited to explore a lovely set of lakes in the temperate southern regions, and the senior staff are invited to tour the capitol city. Kathryn ends up joining one of the Calvani City ministers for a meal with Tuvok and a small group of local scholars.

After a leisurely lunch, Tuvok returns to the ship to oversee final supply loading. The minister mentions that some of the other senior staff had spent time next door in the central nursery, where young children of the local hospital and energy workers stay during the day, so Kathryn agrees to walk over with him. Calvani architecture is sleek and graceful, and the walk through the lush plaza gardens is a pleasant one.

The building they enter is warm, filled with natural light, and the walls are a series of pastel colors, dotted with what look like paintings of native animals sporting pleasant expressions, and the violet and green eyes that seem most common among the Calvani people. She smiles at the sight; without fail, cute, anthropomorphized animals are a unifying factor in children’s living space throughout the galaxy. Some things truly are universal, it seems.

As they climb a set of stairs, message flashes across the minister’s comm bracelet, and he pauses to read it. “Ah, I believe we will be meeting one of your crew in the nursery. Apparently he came back today at their request.”

“Who?”

“Your officer, Mr. Chakotay, has become a new favorite for the children,” the minister explains fondly. “Storytellers are beloved here, and he has been kind enough to offer them his own stories. He came yesterday and told them a tale, and they begged him to come back again today and tell them more.”

She can’t help smiling. “That sounds like him.”

* * *

Sure enough, Chakotay’s sitting on a cushion on one side of the bright, airy room with yellow-and-blue walls and filmy white drapes, and there’s a crowd of Calvani children at his feet, two of them leaning against his knees, looking up expectantly.

“Well, did you like that story?” he asks, and the children yell their appreciation as Kathryn slips into the back of the group to watch.

“More!” one little boy cheers, patting the floor with his hands excitedly. “Please! Please!”

The rest of the children join the chorus, clamoring and pleading with him, and he finally grins at them in obvious defeat. “Well, maybe just _one_ more -”

The children cheer, and he shrugs. “All right then.”

Kathryn feels a little hand tugging at her sleeve, and looks down to find a tiny, wide-eyed girl with big purplish-blue eyes. “Are you here for Mister Story?”

 _Mister Story_.

“Yes, I am.” The girl smiles at her, and Kathryn adds, “may I sit with you?”

“Yes!” 

The little girl drags her towards a low couch in the back of the group. Kathryn obligingly sits beside the child, who immediately scrambles onto her lap and settles there contentedly, as though this was her entire plan. “I’m Sila,” she whispers. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Kathryn.”

“Ka-thr-yn,” Sila repeats slowly. “I like that name.”

“Thank you. I like yours.”

Sila beams up at her and nestles against her shoulder. 

Looking up, Kathryn finds she’s no longer unnoticed; the children may be chattering with each other, but the storyteller knows she’s here. Chakotay’s watching her, and as Sila snuggles contentedly in her arms, the look on his face - it’s so _soft_.

She realizes, very suddenly, that it’s been a long time since she’s seen that look on his face.

 _“Storyyyyyyyyyyyy_ ,” the little boy demands again. “Tell us another story!”

“Okay, okay. Another story. Let me think.” Chakotay catches Kathryn’s eye for just a moment and pauses, as if he’s reconsidering, but finally clears his throat. “Well. All right. 

“The sun and moon live high up in the sky, far beyond the clouds. This is how your world looks, and it’s how mine looks, too. But what you might not know, children, is that the sun and moon are spirits.”

“Spirits?” echoes one little boy at his feet.

“Yes,” Chakotay nods. “During the day, the Sun Goddess looks down over the land. She’s golden, shining, very beautiful. You’ve seen the Sun Goddess, haven’t you?”

The children nod, chirping _yes, of course_. “Sun Goddess lets us see things,” one small girl explains seriously, and he nods.

“She does, it’s true. The Sun Goddess gives us light and keeps us warm. She’s the queen of fire, and she rules over the day from her throne in the sky.”

“What about the night?” Sila demands from her perch on Kathryn’s lap. “The Sun is sleeping at night.”

“Yes, she is,” Chakotay agrees. “The night is led by the Moon God, when Sun Goddess is asleep. The Moon God rules the night, and the Sun Goddess rules the day. He follows her; wherever she walks in the sky, he walks, too. Even though there’s a whole sky between them, his steps never falter.”

“But if they’re never together,” one little girl pipes up, “why does he keep chasing her?”

Chakotay smiles.

“Love.”

Kathryn catches her breath.

“He loves her,” Chakotay continues, his voice gentle and warm. “It’s in Moon’s nature to follow Sun. His light is simply a reflection of what she gives the world. And he could no sooner stop loving her than he could drop from the sky.”

“He follows her light?” asks Sila, and he nods.

“Always.”

Kathryn finally finds her voice. “What if it fades?”

“It never could.” His eyes meet hers, deep and dark, and she catches her breath. “Maybe sometimes it’s hard to see in the clouds, but it’s always there.”

There’s a long moment of silence, their eyes locked together across the room.

“Mister Story?” Sila pipes up in her clear voice. “What happens to Sun and Moon?”

He pauses for a long moment, and Kathryn can see him holding back, catching himself. He’s not sure what to say, because he’s already said so much.

_And I usually pull away, don’t I?_

So instead, she runs a hand over Sila’s soft hair and asks, “What do _you_ think happens to them?”

“I think they get married,” the girl tells her. “They get married and they’re happy and they love each other. That’s how it works.”

“Do they have babies?” one little boy asks, and Sila screws up her little face in thought.

“I don’t know,” she admits. “But they have the stars.”

* * *

Chakotay’s a fool.

He knows he’s a fool. He’s just asking for more pain, telling this ‘legend’ that’s nothing but a flimsy covering for the depth of his feelings for the woman sitting right across from him.

But she’s here, holding a wide-eyed little girl in her arms. And then she smiles at him, her eyes bright and warm and glittering with a few hidden tears.

His heart beats a touch faster, a thready, hectic tattoo against his ribs.

And for just a moment, he can believe that he has everything he wants.

* * *

The children plead for more stories, but the minister claps his hands, telling them to thank their guest storyteller and run off to their beds.

He ushers the children out with a heartfelt _thank you_ to Chakotay, tapping little Sila on the arm as she waves one last time and scampers away, and then, finally, it’s just the two of them.

Chakotay stands, crossing the room, offering her a hand to pull her up. “I didn’t realize you’d planned on coming to storytime.”

His hand is warm, strong, as he pulls her to her feet. “I hope you don’t mind. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.”

“Not at all.” He gives her a cautious smile. “It was good to see you.”

He follows her down the steps, across the colorful main entrance, into the balmy sunshine. There’s a breeze rustling the gardens, and the blossoms around them smell fragrant, sweet and spicy all at once.

She stops walking suddenly, and he pauses, confused as he turns back to her. “Kathryn?”

She looks around. They’re alone in the garden, along one of the sheltered corridors lines with vines and feathery-looking blossoms and gnarled, twisty little trees. The greenery is lush and thriving around them, glowing green and gold in the sun.

And for a long moment, she thinks back to the last time she and Chakotay were alone in a forest.

Just the two of them, taking slow, steady steps towards something she was terrified to want.

Sometimes she wonders if those months were real, or if she just dreamed them up. Because there’s no possible way they could have had something so pristine and beautiful, something that makes her chest ache to think about now.

Has it really been – what, four years now? Five?

The touch of his hand on her shoulder brings her back from the reverie. He looks concerned. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” It’s reflexive. She shakes her head; she should answer him more accurately. “Just – distracted, I guess.”

He nods slowly. “You looked like you wanted to ask something.”

She opens her mouth. Closes it. The question is hovering at the edge of her mind, and it feels too much to approach directly.

Maybe indirectly is best.

(And she wants him to smile.)

“You know, I’m beginning to think you don’t know any _real_ legends.”

His answering laugh is warm and deep and welcome.

“Just because I made it up, doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

 _That_ sends shivers through her skin. He’s not usually so…honest.

She feels unbalanced around him. When he does let it slip, it hits her hard. She’s never really understood why he’d love her as much as she suspects he does.

And normally, it’s something she can process – a smile across the bridge, a few flirty comments, pleasant candlelight dinners and after-dinner drinks that never last too long. But somehow it feels so real today, and she can’t look away.

“Do you – really –”

She can’t quite finish the question, but of course he understands.

He takes a step closer, brushing a strand of her hair back, tucking it behind her ear with a gentleness that makes her heart flutter. “You knew, Kathryn. I’ve told you.”

“It’s been so long,” she says hesitantly. “We’ve been through so much – I’ve _put_ you through so much. I didn’t want to – to assume.”

“You never have to question it. And if you do? Ask me. I’ll tell you.”

“Chakotay -”

“I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it.”

Her eyes sting, her heart pounds in her chest, and after all this time, she just can’t bear to leave it behind again. His hand is so gentle on her face. He’s always so gentle with her.

_(He could no sooner stop loving her than he could drop from the sky.)_

“Don’t tell me.” He looks stricken, but she curls her fingers around his wrist, refusing to let him pull away. _“Show_ me.”

His face lights up, and after just a moment’s hesitation – like he’s making very sure she means it – he cradles her face in both hands, so careful.

Her eyes flutter shut, and then his mouth is on hers, slow and patient and tender.

It’s one soft kiss, then another, and as she slides her hands over his broad shoulders, pushing up on her toes to get closer to him as –

“Ka-thr-yn! Mister Story!”

They break apart, startled, and Kathryn turns to find Sila running through the garden towards them, looking delighted.

She crouches down, and the little girl throws herself into Kathryn’s arms, hugging her tightly. “Sila, shouldn’t you be back in the nursery?”

“I saw you out here! I wanted to say goodbye.” Sila plants a kiss on her cheek. “Were you and him really kissing?”

Kathryn blushes, looking up at Chakotay. “Yes, we were.”

“Good.” Sila grabs Chakotay’s hand and pulls him down so she can plant a kiss on his cheek, too. “Does he tell you stories?”

“He told me a beautiful story once.” Kathryn smiles at him gently. “I’ve never forgotten it.”

Sila fixes Chakotay with a very serious look. “Do you promise to keep telling her more stories?”

He nods solemnly. “I promise.”

“Sila! Sila, sweet one, come back here! Don’t you want your snack?”

One of the nursery aides calls from across the garden, and Sila runs back through the flowers, leaving Kathryn and Chakotay to smile at each other a little shyly.

“You know, I have plenty of time before I have to be back on the ship,” she tells him. “Are you busy?”

He smiles at her, those dimples she loves as winsome as ever. “This garden seems nice. Would you like to get lost for a while?”

Kathryn takes the arm he offers, leaning into the strong line of his body.

“With you? I’d love to.”


End file.
